HOW-TO: write files in ATIH Backups
Hi everyone,
just recently I've received an interesting question via PM in this Acronis forum. The user was asking if there is a possibility to access his tib files in a way so he can not only restore from them, but also write new files or delete them to save up space
Hello Karl,
Have you found any way to modify the content of a .TIB image file (maybe on linux OS)?
For the past few days I have searched through the net but have found nothing.
Also I have read your posts on the forum, even those from 2015.
Thank you in advance for your reply and sorry for any inconvenience if I have made :)
It didn't take long to come up with an answer that helped David.
Hi David,
don't feel sorry for asking. Afaik there is no way to modify a tib file. This was possible in early versions of ATIH but I think because of data protection or security views this has been disabled. Today you can only mount TIB files ready only. However you can convert a tib file to a vhdx and use this virtual disk with write support in Hyper-V when using Windows 10 pro. You can use it as secondary disk or if necessary and based on the backup, also to boot from (if it was a Windows drive C backup).
Please know that this forums is missing an indicator for unread pm, so maybe you get late replies like this.
I am sorry for the inconvinience but this is a known limitation.
Pro tip: If you have a VHDX and delete files this does not automatically allow you to free up space in a VHDX file, like in a database file.
1. use / create a dynamic (thin provisioned) VHDX
2. delete files in the VHDX
3. run defrag on the particular drive, note Windows does recognize the thin-provisioned drive.
4. shutdown the VM and use Hyper-V to edit the harddisk to shrink it. Without the prior run "defrag" you wil get less space freed up with "shrink".
We agreed that I will post this in public, so hopefully this "workaround" of a removed feature might be helpful for others too.
Note: Hyper-V is only available in Windows 10 Pro edition. There are rumours it will come to Home too, in a reduced functionality with Windows 10 1903.